U.S. won’t provide airstrikes for Iraqi offensive against Islamic State: Pentagon

U.S. won’t provide airstrikes for Iraqi offensive against Islamic State: Pentagon

The U.S. is not providing airstrikes to help the Iraqi government’s new counteroffensive to again try to take back the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Tikrit from the Islamic State terror army.

The American-led coalition has conducted thousands of air strikes since August to whittle own the Islamic State occupiers, but in this case it is letting Iraq aircraft do the bombing.

After at least two failed attempts in recent months to capture Tikrit, Iraq has mustered more troops, a large number of them Shiite militia fighters who will battle Sunni groups loyal to the Islamic State, also called ISIL and ISIS.

Iraq’s largest counter-offense to date began Monday morning with thrusts from the south and north into Saddam Hussein’s old neighborhood where a number of Sunni Muslims have joined forces with the Islamic State, an ultra-violent Sunni extremist group.

Press reports from Baghdad said Iranians were backing up the Shia militias, creating a possible combustible battleground that could breakout into sectarian violence instead of a well-orchestrated campaign.

“The Sunnis are torn between holding their nose and siding with ISIS or putting up with Shi’a militia and Iranian proxies,” said Robert Maginnis, a retired Army officer and military analyst. “Sectarianism is very much alive and will drive this conflict far more than the political leaders admit.”

via NorthEast Calling http://ift.tt/1wLXI5Q